


N. Cased in N. Trancement

by CyberLatias (RenegadeLord)



Category: Crash Bandicoot (Video Games)
Genre: Crash Team Racing - Nitro-Fuelled
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:42:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24964663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenegadeLord/pseuds/CyberLatias
Summary: Some of the greatest racers across the bandicoot world are invited to race in the prestigious Cosmic Circuit. But who will come out on top when Cortex's minions run out of patience with their boss and go into business for themselves?
Kudos: 3





	1. Starting Dash

N-Cased in N-Trancement, a Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fuelled Story

Crash, Coco, and Crunch were relaxing at home one day with Polar and Pura. ‘Crash, why don’t you try doing some work for once’ Coco insisted, fed-up of her brother’s laziness. He responded with a characteristic shrug of his shoulders, before going back to sleep.

Just then, somebody hammered on the door. ‘Big bro, go and get that will you?’ As Crash ignored his sister, she rolled her eyes. Shortly after, Pura came trotting in with a letter in his mouth, encased in a gold envelope. ‘Good boy Pura. I’m a proud tiger momma aren’t I, yes I am.’

As they hugged, Crunch opened took the letter and opened it. ‘So, what does it say?’ ‘It says “Dear Team Bandicoot, having previously defeated Emperor Velo XVIII, you are hereby invited to the Cosmic Circuit Challenge. In exactly seven days, a traction beam will engulf your entire property and deliver you to the entrance where you shall register.’

The two of them then looked around at each other. ‘So what do you think happens if we refuse to race?’ Coco then looked over accusingly at him. ‘Apart from the bit where we can’t go home and we’d have no home to go to because it’s been sucked up by a traction beam? Let’s get to work.’

Far away, in Cortex’s rebuilt castle

Neo Cortex was working on another plan to capture the bandicoots and spread evil across the world, with N. Gin and N. Tropy assisting him. ‘So there’s going to be a galactic racing championship then? I think we could stretch to that with my new invention.’

He then produced a black gem. ‘This gem allows us to teleport to any event. And I’m sure that those bandicoots will be there.’ Tropy then poured hot water on his dreams. ‘Would this be a suitable time to point out that your inventions are what got us into this mess in the first place? And that your inventions never work?’

‘Yes, well this was a collaborative project between myself and N. Gin.’ ‘And that is supposed to make it more likely to work? He’s even more unreliable than you.’ The engineer and Cortex’s right-hand man was unhappy at this. ‘Excuse me, I am a perfectly functioning human cyborg.’

‘This coming from the one with a missile stuck in their head.’ ‘Well if you rewound time, I could quit that job and not end up with a missile stuck in my head. Besides, we can’t beat the bandicoots. Not like this.’ Tropy then nodded. ‘You are right. Think – of all our co-conspirators, who has come the closest.’

Tiny then grinned in the corner. ‘Tiny squash Bandicoots like bugs. Tiny eat bugs. Bugs delicious.’ He then picked up an unfortunate caterpillar, and swallowed it in one. ‘Oh Tiny, wishful thinking. If only your brain was half as big as your strength you’d destroy them with ease.’

Dingodile then walked in with his trusty flamethrower. ‘Give me a shot at those bandicoots and I’ll turn them into cinders!’ Cortex simply put his head in his hands. ‘Dingodile, you’ve tried so many times. And you’ve failed each time. The fact is, they won’t stand there waiting to be fried.’

N.Gin then made an innocuous comment which sent Tropy’s alarm bells ringing. ‘You can’t fry them unless they stay there for you. And they won’t stay without somehow being mesmerised.’ Immediately, Tropy went over to the computer screen.

‘What are you doing?’ ‘It turns out Missile Head may have an idea on his hands. ‘Think of how we nearly had them all last time. My contact, remember.’ This suddenly gave Dingodile terrible PTSD. ‘No, not him again.’ ‘Relax Dingodile, this time he won’t be after you.’

A certain egg-headed hypnotist then appeared on the screens. ‘Nefarious Tropy, it’s been some time has it not?’ ‘It has. The last time we recruited you, part of the reason for our failure was my vision of the future. It made us overconfident.’ ‘Indeed. And I have been looking for a new army to work for me.’

He then grinned. ‘How about working with us for the upcoming Cosmic Circuit?’ ‘I haven’t been invited – how do you expect me to get there?’ Tropy laughed again. ‘Oh don’t worry about that, transport is… shall we say included for free. All you have to do is bring yourself.’

Seven days later

As the traction beam arrived at the Bandicoot home, the three of them were ready.. .Just as the beam was about to suck them up, Polar and Pura walked into the path, and were also pulled into a flying ship sailing across the empty expanse of deep space.

Coco then admonished their pets. ‘You were supposed to stay away. Remember what happened last time? Well I guess it’s a good job you had those chips implanted then.’ Crunch meanwhile, was busy flexing. ‘Let any of the bad guys come near us, I’ll send them into next week!’

‘Violence isn’t always the answer Crunch. Besides, we don’t even have any guarantee that Neo Cortex or any of his cronies are here.’ ‘Wherever we go, they go. If they aren’t invited then they’ll find a way to get here.’

After a great deal of travel, the ship disembarked on a small, rocky planetoid. Sat on a grand throne was Pinstripe, in a white and black suit, with his face in the same colours. Everyone seemed surprised at who was facing them down, as the other teams revealed themselves – Team Mutant (Pasadena O’Possum, Ebenezer Von Clutch, Hasty and Yaya), Team Gasmoxia (Nitrous Oxide, Zam, Zem, and Velo), and Team Cortex (Neo Cortex, N. Gin, Tiny, and Dingodile).

Looking around, Coco looked surprised. ‘Look at how many there is.’ Pinstripe then spoke, and made sure everyone was listening by pointing his trusted Tommy gun at them. ‘Welcome one and all, to the Cosmic Circuit Challenge! I am your host, and this is a test which will tax every last one of your brain cells, for most of you that will be very quick.’

‘You will all race across a variety of circuits in various locations. Not all of them will be familiar to you, but all of them will provide a different test, with the quickest drivers gaining points based on finishing position for their team. And let’s just say whichever Team finishes first at the end will earn a special advantage.’

‘You see, at the end of the circuit only the best eight drivers will qualify for the play-offs regardless of team. You will then race across varying tracks. If you win a race, you earn a key for your team. If you have earned five keys, the crown of Cosmic Champions is yours. Races begin in exactly 60 minutes with a sprint through Inferno Island. Each team will nominate two racers to take part in every track. Good luck.’

As Pinstripe sat back down, Pasadena and her team walked over to Team Bandicoot. ‘So which two of y’all are racing across that island?’ Coco replied swiftly. ‘Crash and Crunch.’ ‘Hey, aren’t we discussing this?’ ‘You’ll be great on it Crunch. It’s so simple, it’s stamp on the gas and never let go.’

She then smiled at Crash. ‘Give me a kiss and I might go slow for you.’ Before Crash could consider that, his sister rebuffed this. ‘We’ll beat you anyway. Who are you racing with?’ ‘Just me and my lil’ ol’ panda sister.’ Yaya then walked up in her overalls. ‘You ready Pasadena?’ ‘Me? I was born ready to race you hear me? This will be as simple as Mud Pie.’

Elsewhere, Tropy and N. Gin were quietly discussing a plan. ‘But how do we do it? We’ll be caught and thrown in jail.’ ‘With my manipulation of time, we can constantly rewind until it works. But we have to bide our time until we know that Trance can hold up his end of the bargain. Otherwise it isn’t worth it.’

‘I thought you said we could trust him.’ ‘We should be able to, but we have no guarantees. Once he has begun his drive, then we can commence our plan.’ ‘And Pinstripe?’ ‘He’s no threat.’

On the track

The engines revved, and as the light went green, Pasadena surged straight to the front, with Zem and Tiny just behind. Coming towards the first bend, Tiny tried to make a move, but blinded by aggression, he drove into a pillar instead, dropping to the back.

Picking up a shield, Pasadena continued to extend her lead, until a surging Crunch fired a missile at her, the possum playing her own game and waiting until the last moment to put her shield up and protect herself as she drove into the wumpa crate.

Meanwhile, Crash had gotten distracted at the back by talking to Yaya, which until the panda revealed the ruse at the end of lap 1. ‘Sorry Crash, had to keep you busy for Pasadena.’ She then used a boost and roared off, leaving him dead last.

At the front, two missile shots had Zem reeling in the pigtailed possum for 1st, and wheel-to-wheel racing ensued, but Pasadena was once again luring, and waited until the last moment to ease off the gas, leading to the Gasmoxian ogre spearing off into a wall and dropping out of the points altogether.

She continued stretching her lead with precision driving until the point where she lapped Crash coming towards the end of lap 2. Disaster then struck, however, as she was run over by a ball of electricity, followed immediately by a pair of bowling bombs, and N. Gin took over the lead.

‘Heh heh, sorry little girl, but you should have moved over for Tiny.’ Not standing for being behind, Pasadena immediately launched into a powerslide, and boosted twice, before leaping right over N. Gin to take the shortcut on the final lap, landing comfortably on the ledge and getting a further boost afterwards, taking the lead back.

Coming to the end, she still lead, and with a significant speed advantage over the cyborg, she cruised over the line nearly 7 seconds clear in first, with N. Gin coming second. Yaya slid into third, overtaking Tiny on the line by a wheel’s length.

As Pasadena got out of her kart back on the base planet, she felt a presence behind her. As she looked around though, she was all alone. ‘Gee, the racing really gets to me sometimes.’ Arriving back with her team, she took Von Clutch to one side.

‘Great drive.’ ‘Thanks. I was just wondering if we could race together next?’ ‘Why?’ ‘It’s just… it feels like someone’s following me. I don’t know why, but it’s like someone eyeing up your cornbread.’ ‘It’ll be the heat of battle getting to you. But if you think we should race together next, then so it is.’

The next race was in a new circuit, Drive-Thru Danger. Before the race, Von Clutch explained the plan of action to his team. ‘I’ve been thinking, and decided that me and Pasadena are going to race in this one.’ This displeased Yaya. ‘I want another go!’

‘You did brilliantly in Inferno Island. But this is a track none of us know anything about. So owing to my more balanced nature, I would like to take this one on. And as Pasadena won the last race, I wanted her to stay on. Because when she’s winning races, she never stops at one. You’ll get plenty of opportunities Yaya. If Pasadena doesn’t come high in this race, you can replace her for the next one.’

Seemingly disappointed still, Yaya hung her head so Pasadena hugged her. ‘You’re the best lil’ girl I know. But we need to take advantage while I’m in form.’ ‘I know, it's just… I never had these opportunities before. I’ve only ever been a sideshow attraction.’

‘Never one with us. You’re our team member. We’re the best team around. And we’re not going to go anywhere unless you’re ok for us to.’ She then smiled. ‘I’m being really selfish. You’re our best driver Pasadena. Look at everything you’ve won – you had to get an entire new trophy wall.’

Over with Team Cortex, N. Gin was furious with Tiny for his failings. ‘You lost to that little panda? Can we not rely on you for anything?’ Tiny tried to grin his way out of the situation, but it didn’t work. ‘At least I have one driver I can rely on. Dingodile, let’s go!’

As he got no reply, Gin turned around and found Dingodile staring at Team Mutant. ‘DINGODILE!’ The chimera then turned around, stunned out of his apparent trance. ‘Why can I never rely on anybody? Cortex, you’ll have to do.’ ‘I say, why don’t you still go with Dingodile?’ ‘Because at least you’re on this planet.’

Cortex rolled his eyes at the thought of having to do any work himself. ‘Fine, we’ll race, and I’ll win.’ Cortex went towards the exit portal, and the rest of them stared at him from behind. ‘He needs to be dealt with.’ Tiny meanwhile, was too busy scratching his ear to listen.

On the track

As the race began, Cortex entered into an early lead, with N. Gin holding 2nd, trying to hold off Pura. They held everyone off for a majority of the first lap, with most other drivers going off the tricky track at least once. Von Clutch and Coco were having a spirited battle for fourth, which turned into a battle for third as Pura spun out near the end of the lap.

As the second started, the female bandicoot found a boost, and took advantage, sweeping past N.Gin, and then going to pass Cortex, before N. Gin came up from behind and butted her off of the track, almost falling himself and giving the evil genius the lead again.

This lead continued with Von Clutch, then Oxide, and then Zam all trying to pass, only for Gin to see them all off one way or another. Near the back, Pasadena was sticking right to the back of the pack, making little effort to overtake.

At the front, Cortex and Gin were discussing tactics. ‘So Dr. Cortex, is the plan still for a 1-2?’ ‘I don’t care where you finish, as long as I win. As the team leader, it’s your job to protect me.’ Cortex then motored away, annoying N. Gin. ‘The sooner Dr. Tropy’s plan is in full bloom the better.’

Cortex continued circuiting, confident that N. Gin was protecting him, but what they didn’t anticipate was Pasadena roaring through the field, with Von Clutch right behind her trying to push her on, and they bulldozed the entire field, eventually overhauling N. Gin. Von Clutch then threw a bomb at Cortex, leading to Cortex dropping to fourth.

With them now clearly in first and second, Von Clutch eased off of the pedal. ‘What are you doing?’ ‘You’ve already won one. Win another and we’ve got a better chance of having someone in the final round.’ She looked confused, until he gave her a helpful nudge up the rear (of the kart), and she drove off to finish first.

Further back, N. Gin was disappointed, just about to finish 3rd when Cortex fired a missile at him, to accelerate past for 3rd. ‘You shouldn’t have overtaken me, you know that’s not how we work.’ The yellow-headed scientist was delighted, until he looked back and saw Coco taking the last point, N. Gin finishing equal 6th alongside Oxide.

At the finish line, Von Clutch tried (unsuccessfully) to teach Pasadena maths. Meanwhile, Gin and Cortex had a major arguement over Cortex’s ego, as Coco looked on. ‘Good job we don’t act like that.’ She then noticed something in the portal back, but it disappeared before any recognition could be obtained.

Back on the main planetoid

As Gin came back first, he punched the ground, causing a minor tremor. ‘That idiot Cortex! He’s costing us points!’ Dingodile then had an idea. ‘You want me to scorch him with my flamethrower?’ Tropy then walked back in carrying his staff. ‘No. Not yet. Wait to see if Trance can deliver first. He insists he already has his first target. Preparation is everything.’

‘Meaning?’ ‘Trance’s powers of hypnotism are very powerful. However, they must be wielded carefully. As such, any subject must be in a certain mental situation in order to be hypnotised successfully. A calm mind will not do. Only when emotions are heightened will he be at his prime.’

‘Well how long do we have to wait?’ ‘He doesn’t think it will be long. I have known Trance for a long time, he rarely lets me down. We must trust in his power and trust in his timing. Everyone will get what’s coming to them. And I mean everyone.’

With Team Gasmoxia

Oxide was furious at his team’s inability to register a point so far. ‘What are we playing at? We can’t even score on our home track! Why didn’t I just have their entire planet turned into tarmac?’ ‘Zem then stood up to him, pointing out their issue. ‘You were too nice. In fact we’re all being too nice. If living on Gasmoxia has taught me anything, it’s that you have to fight for everything. Even if it means making a few earthlings cry.’

The announcement then came through that the third race would be on Assembly Lane. Oxide was ready to get in his kart, but Zam and Velo were already there. ‘Leave this one to us young Oxide.’ ‘If I wanted patronising I would have asked my mother.’ Velo then laughed. ‘The mother who was blown up four years ago?’ They then drove off before Oxide could reply.

Team Mutant

Yaya was preparing to sit the race out as agreed by her team before the previous race. But Pasadena had a surprise for her. ‘Y’all, we’ve been talking, and we’re sitting this one out, me and Ebby.’ Hasty then pulled his goggles down. ‘Let’s do this.’

In the race

As the light went green, Crunch got an incredible start and was over a second ahead by the second corner, but had Tiny chasing after him in 2nd. Yaya meanwhile was at the back having been caught in a pincer movement by Zam and Velo.

At the front, Crunch was still leading until Dingodile shouted at his partner. ‘Tiny, jump!’ One jump later and Tiny accessed a ledge, providing a big shortcut and he took the lead landing directly on the metal-armed bandicoot, who was then caught by Dingodile in the confusion.

A thrilling three-way battle then ensued, with the heavyweights exchanging the lead over a dozen times before the end of lap 1. Velo was in 4th, providing excellent defensive manoeuvrers to deny a clearly faster Hasty an extra place. Yaya’s racing instincts had taken her past Coco who was struggling on a faster track, but Zam was still causing her problems.

That was until partway through the second lap when hitting an exclamation crate enabled her to lure the dog-like Gasmoxian into a traction beam. Hasty had taken 4th, but was pushed into a pit by Velo, who was taking playing dirty to a new level. But everyone else was circuiting around 11 seconds a lap behind the top 3.

At the front, the tri-duel had continued throughout the second lap, with Dingodile entering lap 3 just ahead of Tiny, Crunch having lost time at the end of the previous lap. Dingo then made the mistake of trying to discuss tactics with the nearly brainless tiger.

‘Important thing is we’re #1 and #2. Keep the bandicoot behind you.’ ‘Tiny crush bandicoots!’ ‘Yes, you can crush them later. For now, keep them behind you.’ ‘Tiny crush!’ Dingodile then shook his head. ‘When we get rid of him can we get rid of Tiny as well?’

Their close racing continued, with them all eyeing up the shortcut on the last lap. Inexplicably though, Dingodile veered away at the last moment, performing a 90 degree turn in mid-air and launching into a vicious combo of powerslides, resulting in blue fire which propelled him back into 1st and impressing Crunch.

‘Not bad.’ At this point, Dingo picked up a beaker, but instead of using it just held firm, using raw speed to stay ahead of his opponents, while Tiny lost speed entering the upper section, taking a loose line through the bend. Velo was still holding onto 4th, but Hasty and Yaya were both chasing. Coco was at the back of the field, and after several clashes with Zam, was now half a lap down.

Dingo lead into the final bend, and drifted from the racing line, cutting right across Crunch, who ended up spinning Dingo across the line backwards. Tiny was on course for 3rd, but Velo fired a bomb at him right before the line, to sneak the three points, with Tiny ending up crossing the line at the same time as Yaya, meaning they both earned a single point each. Hasty finished 6th, Zam was 7th, and Coco was over 40 seconds behind when she crossed the line.

As the race finished, Dingodile jumped out of his kart and faced off with Crunch. ‘You know, for a bandicoot you ain’t that bad. Damn good race.’ Crunch then laughed. ‘You got me there. That turn you did was some pretty cool stuff.’ Having shown respect to each other, they returned to the hub world.

Back on the hub world

As Dingo arrived back at his team, Tropy seemed rather pleased. ‘Excellent racing.’ ‘That pesky bandicoot pushed me man. More annoying than a rainstorm during a barbie.’ Cortex was more bothered about the respect between them though, until he made the mistake of hitting Dingo in the nose.

He responded with bared teeth. ‘I don’t care if we’re working together or not. The next time you do that to me I’m gonna eat you!’ With that stark warning, Cortex backed down.

With Team Mutant

As their drivers got back, Yaya noticed that her pigtailed possum friend wasn’t looking too happy, instead appearing pensive. ‘At least we got some points?’ ‘Huh? Yeah, you were great Yaya.’ ‘What’s up then?’ Von Clutch then explained. ‘Pasadena’s been feeling like someone’s stalking her ever since we got here. I told her that it’s just the atmosphere here messing with her.’

Yaya then made a suggestion. ‘Would it be an idea if she went back in for the next race then? Let’s face it, nothing else matters to her when she’s on a racetrack.’ ‘We’ll see what the track is first. Then we’ll discuss who to put in.’

With Team Bandicoot

The last place had dented Coco’s confidence severely. ‘It felt like I was driving in mud compared to you Crunch.’ ‘I told you, you should have put Crash in for that one. You’re good on the tight tracks. Not so great on long straights.’ ‘I know that. I guess I was just desperate for us to win something. Because we’re not doing great in terms of points at the moment.’

Crunch then shrugged his shoulders. ‘And? There’s plenty of time to go. All we need is a good result or two and we’ll be back in it.’ An announcement then came through regarding the next race. ‘The next race will be a new track.’ A video previewing it then played. ‘Welcome to the Prehistoric Playground!’

Crunch immediately got into his kart. ‘Looks like one for me.’ Instead of asking Crash though, Coco instead went to Pura. ‘How do you feel about racing?’ Pura smiled, and wandered over to the other kart, as Crunch drove over to the younger bandicoot.

‘Hey are you sure about this? Pura’s not suited to this.’ ‘It will be fine. I’ve tuned his kart for more acceleration. Besides, you’re the one most likely to win it out of all of us. Just let Pura get in everyone else’s way.’ ‘Got it. Let’s do this.’

With Team Cortex

Dingodile seemed even more pumped than usual for the upcoming race, not lost on N. Gin. ‘You seem… excited.’ ‘Want to win two in a row.’ ‘Are you sure that’s all there is?’ ‘Well… there is one thing. That Pasadena’s racing it looks like.’ ‘And?’ ‘They’ve been hyping up that she’s won nearly every race series she’s ever been in. Sounds like the kind of competition I like.’

Seeing potential issues, Gin decided to keep a close eye on the situation. ‘So it’s myself and Dingo racing.’ Cortex went to question this, but the good doctor just brushed him off. The two drove into the portal, as their “leader” bemoaned his apparent lack of authority.

In the race

Waiting for the lights to go out, Dingodile and Pasadena were at the back of the grid, and engaged in a light spot of banter. ‘If you’d faced me sooner, you wouldn’t have all those trophies.’ ‘Yeah? Well why don’t your lil’ ol brain show me what you’re capable of? Maybe you’ll come second.’

‘Or maybe I’ll just come ahead of you.’ ‘Second place doesn’t exist in my mind. I’ve been racing and winning as long as I remember. I’m not going to stop now.’ ‘Well may the best mutant win. Actually scratch that, may the best chimera win.’ This mistake made Pasadena giggle.

With the lights going green, Pura made a dream start, leading down to the first bend, but quickly got overhauled by Dingodile, Crunch, and Pasadena due to their superior speed. The three-way race quickly turned into a two-way race after Pasadena fired a missile at him.

The two at the front then set about extending their lead, with fierce racing jostling for position, with them almost totally even on the straights. Running on max Wumpa fruit as well, they were quickly out of sight of everybody else.

Much further behind, N. Gin was in third, and Pura had fought back for 4th, until Oxide rammed him into a pit to take the position. Crunch was 6th, Yaya 7th, and Velo right at the back.

As the second lap began, Dingo was just ahead until the possum slid between the legs of a dinosaur, getting an incredible boost out the other end, impressing the antipodean. ‘Not half bad for a girl.’ ‘Why, can you do better?’ ‘Just watch me.’ Dingo raced on, right behind the best racer of Team Mutant, until he got to the steam jets.

He then got blasted up by the first jet, and surged across a number of other ones, getting a significant boost from his landing and moving just ahead of Pasadena. She smiled, and responded by taking a difficult shortcut across a series of bones, retaking the lead going onto the last lap.

Shortly after, they noticed Velo stuggling at the back having come out badly from a clash with Yaya, who had slid her way from 7th up to 3rd. In the heat of battle, Pasadena shot a bomb at him, allowing them both to pass him again. They fought their way through the field, until they reached N. Gin and Yaya (involved in their own private battle for 3rd), and they both moved over to allow their faster drivers to lap.

The two appeared to be having a lot of fun racing each other, but there was still no clear winner, as they reached the final section of the lap. In the heat of the moment, Pasadena made a minor error and drifted wide, allowing Dingodile to slide right in front of her.

With his opponent still slightly quicker, Dingo crafted a plan in a split-second, and aimed for the ramps while Pasadena went for her shortcut. However, Dingo trick-jumped off of the first ramp, landed right on the tip of the second ramp, and then turned in mid-air, landing right in front of her on the shortcut, before racing off and claiming victory by nearly two seconds, the most that had been between them the entire race.

Over a minute behind, Yaya found a burst of speed at the start of lap 3, which allowed her to leave N. Gin trailing, and eventually take a clear 3rd by just short of 8 seconds, but still 1min 21 seconds behind her teammate. Pura was 5th, Oxide 6th, Crunch 7th, and Velo brought up the rear despite recording the fastest lap time of anybody outside of the top 2 on his last lap.

Meanwhile, Pasadena and Dingodile were together at the finish line. ‘That move, I’ve never seen anything like it.’ ‘I told you I’d beat you. Pushed me harder than I expected though. You really are worth all the hype.’ ‘Thanks.’ She then blushed slightly.

‘Don’t get too many compliments.’ ‘Don’t know why. You should come and join us – with someone like you racing for us, we’d win everything.’ Flattered, Pasadena turned him down. ‘I like the idea, but I’ve got my own to look after. Like Yaya, she’s a good kid but she needs some ol’ motherly comfort.’ ‘Your loss.’ ‘Thank you though.’ She patted him on the back, and then left as Gin came up to him.

‘Someone seemed interested.’ ‘She’s a good racer. I shoulda smoked her, but I couldn’t get away. She’s on a different level.’ The doctor then made a comment. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say you had feelings for her.’ He just laughed in response. ‘Very funny.’

Back in the hub world

Pasadena and Von Clutch were talking about her concerns. ‘It really feels like someone’s following me. Like if you took the last slice of pie. I’m really scared.’ ‘You’ll be fine Pasadena. It’s probably paranoia. Either that or you’ve got an admirer.’

‘Don’t be gross.’ ‘You’ve just got to concentrate on the driving. Nothing bad’s going to happen to you when you’ve got the rest of your team.’ ‘I know. Just can’t shake this feeling that something bad’s about to happen.’ As the mad park owner left, a robotic hand reached out and tapped Pasadena on the shoulder.

As she turned around, N. Trance was there, and he immediately held out his other hand which contained a swirling spiral pattern. ‘Watch the spiral swirl back and forth, and you will do my bidding.’ Her reply was slow and entranced. ‘Yes, I will do your bidding.’

‘You will race on behalf of myself, N. Trance, and do exactly as I demand.’ ‘Yes, I will do as you demand.’ ‘You will be hypnotised again at this time every day in order to keep your spell strong.’ ‘I will do as you command.’ ‘When I click my robotic fingers, you will obey.’

As Trance clicked his fingers, Pasadena’s eyes were totally blank. ‘Pasadena O’Possum, welcome to Team Trance.’ ‘I will do as you command master.’ ‘Good.’ Trance then brought one of his bug-eyes karts over. ‘Sit in your new kart Pasadena.’

As she sat down in the kart, Trance wasted no time in putting a helmet on her pigtails, with the helmet having an antenna on. ‘Now your orders will come through your helmet. What is your mission?’ Her reply was mindless and automatic. ‘My mission is to catch the bandicoots and allow you to hypnotise them.’ He laughed, and stroked her pigtails. ‘You’re mine now!’

**End of Chapter 1**

**STANDINGS AFTER CHAPTER 1**

**Team Mutant – 37 points**

**Team Cortex – 30 points**

**Team Bandicoot – 7 point**

**Team Gasmoxia – 3 points**

**DRIVERS STANDINGS:**

**1st: Pasadena – 24 points**

**2nd - Dingodile – 18 points**

**3rd= - N.Gin/Yaya – 7 points**

**5th= Crunch /Von Clutch – 6 points**

**7th = - Cortex/Velo – 3 points**


	2. Overtaken by Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Pasadena now working for Dr. Trance, the races continue. As her ex-team-mates clamour for her release and return, the plan becomes more clear, but is Dingodile truly on side?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying the story, leave Kudos, leave a comment, because not only do I want to know what you think, I'm also open to new story ideas.

N-Cased in N-Trancement, a Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fuelled Story

Lap 2: Overtaken by Evil

As Day 2 of competition arrived, N. Trance and N. Tropy were discussing progression. ‘I agreed to show you patience, however it must be noted that our colleagues get restless. How is your progression?’ ‘My first target is under my spell. Gather the others, and I shall demonstrate.’ Tropy then found Dingodile and N. Gin, who were discussing the previous day’s racing. ‘What do you say to a little bit more help today rather than running off with your girlfriend?’ Dingo responded by baring his teeth. ‘I told you that nothing is going on.’ The master of time then interrupted them. ‘My colleague N. Trance has something to show you both. But he insists that you must come to him.’ Dingo wasn’t interested. ‘I’m going nowhere near him.’ ‘Relax Dingo, he will not be a n threat to you. He is working on my behalf. And if he tries anything, I will send him to a different dimension.’

As they walked over, Pasadena was stood there wearing Trance’s helmet. Dingo was the first to react. ‘Well I wasn’t expecting that mate.’ ‘So that was your plan?’ ‘Indeed. As I told you, my subjects have to be in a certain frame of mind before a spell is applied.’ N.Gin then immediately turned to leave. ‘Are you not satisfied?’ ‘Satisfied, yes. Sadly I was interrupted while working on our karts.’ Tropy then admonished him. ‘Our guest has provided a major coup. The least he deserves is a moment of your time.’ ‘I apologise. I did not mean to upset either of you.’ ‘We have to discuss what to do in terms of Pasadena racing for us?’ Dingo then made an obvious comment. ‘We could just go and ask him.’ Tropy laughed, and then concurred. But he had one very specific request.

‘That is an excellent idea. However, I believe I should take it upon myself to talk to Pinstripe.’ He seemed to be expecting opposition, but he received none. ‘Is everyone satisfied this is the correct decision?’ N.Gin shrugged his sloping shoulders. ‘You’re the boss, it’s your decision.’ ‘Dingo?’ Sadly Dingodile was unavailable for comment as he seemed to be in another world, perhaps still having flashbacks. ‘I will go and speak to him immediately then.’ ‘Does that mean’ ‘Yes, you can go and continue work on the car.’

Trance then also left. ‘I have other targets which I wish to observe now. Never miss a moment of preparation for what is ahead of us. The world will soon be ours!’ Everyone else leaving left Dingo and the entranced Pasadena. He looked around, nd walked closer to her. ‘Not how I would have done it, but I guess you’re one of us now.’ ‘I am.’ ‘How does it feel?’ ‘Right.’ ‘Just right?’ ‘Just right.’ He then sat down. ‘i remember… when I was in your situation. With Mr. Trance. Mind you I think I was somewhat deeper under.’

‘You think?’ ‘I could think. I was thinking I wanted to get out of there. But I couldn’t, I had no control over myself. My head was messed up… well more than usual. I couldn’t even speak – count yourself lucky.’ ‘I don’t count myself anything other than a member of the team. I am not to be treated better than anybody else.’ ‘Depends which member of the team.’ Tiny then walked past, and saw the two together. ‘Doctor Cortex says the races are beginning.’ Tiny then walked off, and Dingodile looked at the new recruit. ‘Ready?’ ‘As you wish.’

In the hub world

As the teams lined up, Team Mutant noticed that their fastest driver was now with a different team. Pinstripe then addressed the situation. ‘As you may see, we have had our first transfer.’ Crunch then stepped towards him. ‘What do you mean by “first?”’ ‘Any team may recruit drivers from any other team. However you are only allowed four nominated drivers at any one time.’ Von Clutch then spoke up. ‘Excuse me Mr. Pinstripe, but I have an enquiry. Do we get to pick another driver considering we have had one of ours stolen from us?’

Pinstripe laughed at the thought. ‘While two of your drivers are in our first contest, the other can inform me who you want to replace your driver. They will be given one day’s notice, and the invitation will be optional.’ ‘Those sound like good odds to me.’ ‘Now where were we? Oh yes, our racing. Our first race of the day will be at a personal favourite track of mine. After all, I own the commercial rights to the track. Try and keep your speed up across the Hot Air Skyway.’

With that said, Team Cortex had a meeting, with Cortex leading it. ‘So, which one of you is going to stand aside?’ Dingo shrugged. ‘Take a vote?’ ‘An excellent idea.’ The reptile/mammal hybrid then cut to the chase immediately. ‘Right, everyone who wants Cortex not racing raise your hands.’ Every member raised their hands, including Tiny (although he likely didn’t understand the question and was simply imitating everyone else).

Cortex shook his head. ‘What have I done for you to be like this?’ ‘We’d tell you but we’ll leave that for another time.’ Cortex then realised something. ‘When did I call Trance over anyway?’ Tropy responded by stepping forward. ‘You didn’t. However, I did.’ He then laughed. ‘Dr. Neo Cortex, consider yourself demoted.’ ‘According to who?’ Uka-Uka then appeared. ‘You have failed me too many times Cortex! Dr. Tropy has power far outstripping yours. And he’s competent at his job!’ Tropy then held his hand out.

‘Fall in line Dr. Cortex. If you even try anything against me, I will send you back 10,000 years and let you be eaten by the dinosaurs.’ Furious, Cortex bit back. ‘I don’t need any of you! You’re all failures!’ He then went over to Dingodile. ‘Look at you Dingo, I created you!’ Dingo didn’t seem interested in the slightest at this conformation. ‘We’ve all taken enough from you. Now we’re in business for ourselves. Now if you don’t mind, we have business to attend to.’ Cortex walked off, now without a team, and with Tiny following him.

In the race

As the race began, Dingodile took the lead early doors, and well and truly put the hammer down, putting clear space between himself and Yaya, who had also started well. By the first jump, Yaya was catching up, but Dingo brake-turned from the wrong side of the track to reach the upper ledge of the track, before coming crunching back down, while Yaya played it conservatively and dint’ aim for the ledge.

Their racing continued tooth-and-nail for the rest of the first lap, until Yaya was close enough to put him on blast. ‘What you did to Pasadena is wrong and immoral! She’s like a mother to me!’ ‘Don’t blame me kid, I only found out this morning.’ She then swept past him into first, but on the next corner, he managed to dive into the inside line, pushing her wide. Their arguing had allowed Oxide to catch up, but she closed the door on him, allowing N. Gin to overtake them both for 2nd. By the end of the lap, Dingo and Yaya were neck-and-neck again, with barely a second seperating the top 5, Coco having finished the lap strongly. The drama continued into Lap 2, with the little panda who could cutting up Dingodile’s path at the start of the lap, her anger motivating her to play dirty. As the ramp came up again, Dingo looked to be setting up for a repeat of Lap 1, until Yaya performed a sharp turn to push him off the edge of the track, before sliding onto the turbo pad. Slamming into the wall however, gave the lead to N. Gin.

After this, Dingo was down in 5th, and found Coco in his way. She wasn’t defending however, instead allowing him past easily as she continued to build a chain of boosts herself. When she finally let the boosts unleashed, her speed and incredible acceleration saw her surge straight into the lead. Some way behind, Von Clutch had his hands full trying to stay on track while Zem barged him constantly, having absolutely no intention of improving beyond 6th. Crunch was falling far behind at the back, and struggling to stay on the track. Eventually Von Clutch managed to squeeze his Gasmoxian opponent into a wall, giving him some clear air to race in.

At the front, the lead was changing with every corner, with Dingodile some way behind the front quartet, but going faster than anybody else. By the end of the second lap, Oxide was leading, but the front quintet were seperated by only 4.1 seconds. On the start/finish straight, Yaya stole the lead back from Oxide, showing a far more aggressive side to herself, and racing wheel-to-wheel with him. Coco was in 3rd, with Gin right behind her, until he saw Dingodile speeding up behind him, and pushed Coco towards the wall, allowing his team-mate 3rd.

Seeing who was now behind her, Yaya shouted back. ‘Bring it on, you thief!’ Dingo responded by boosting at the edge of the turbo pad, but not going for the overpass, instead flying just past the panda, who he could make his position clear. ‘I didn’t do anything!’ ‘Yeah, sure you didn’t.’ ‘Talk after the race.’ The racing continued, with Dingo ignoring the constant shouts. By now Oxide had fallen back, making it a three-horse race. Around the tight sections, Coco was gaining time, but on the longer straights, the others were making that time up. Coming into the last straight, there was almost nothing to seperate the top 3, with Coco accelerating as the line homed into view. They crossed the line in a photo-finish, with all of them thinking they’d won.

Waiting for the result to be confirmed, Dingo tried to talk to Yaya, but she wasn’t listening, until Von Clutch finished. ‘Let him say his peace. Then if we don’t like what he’s saying, we’ll blast him with a big rocket.’ ‘Fine. Say what you have to.’ ‘I’m being straight with you. Because I don’t like being blamed when I didn’t do anything. I know what being under… that is like. I wouldn’t have anybody subjected to that mate. Not even someone I hate. I wouldn’t do that. Just because I do bad things doesn’t mean I don’t have a conscience.’The results then came through, showing that Coco and Dingo were inseparable in 1st, with Yaya just .03 of a second further back, and Oxide claiming 4th, a further two seconds back. Having heard Dingo’s story, Yaya looked at him suspiciously, before walking off to the portal.

Back with their one remaining team member, Yaya and Von Clutch were discussing the hybrid’s words. ‘I still don’t believe a word he says.’ The Motorworld owner however, was far more open. ‘I will say one thing on the subject. He did not look like he was a liar. Far from it.’ ‘Why would he tell US the truth though?’ Hasty countered with his own point. ‘Why would he lie? It’s not like they don’t hold all the cards. Name me one good reason why he’d be lying to us instead of gloating.’ The young panda was unable to come up with a response.

Team Bandicoot

Coco was clearly unsettled by the revelation of N. Trance around. ‘Relax kiddo, we beat him once already.’ ‘Yeah, we got lucky though didn’t we? What happens if Aku-Aku doesn’t help Crash escape?’ ‘We’ll have to make sure he doesn’t come to us then. Isn’t that right Crash?’ Crash didn’t respond, as he was too busy swinging a yo-yo around. ‘Why do I even bother?’ Crunch then limbered up. ‘Listen, if he tries anything, I’ll clobber him. It’s that rat Cortex’s fault. He’s the one who’s behind all this.’ The identity of the next race then came up as Dragon Mines. Immediately, Crash looked up and wandered over to his kart. ‘I guess that’s half the decision made then.’ Crunch then looked over to her. ‘Give me a go here.’ ‘Really?’ ‘I can win this one.’ Coco shrugged her shoulders and stood aside. ‘Go on then.’

Team Tropy

Having disappeared for several minutes, Pasadena returned in her new racing skin. Her previous outfit having been replaced by a bronzed, low-cut dress with a pair of bronze boots, each with metallic clasps holding them on. Her dress had two gears on each side, as did her brown chocker. Her pigtails were spiked up at the top, her goggles were bronze, and her tail was serpentine in nature. Dingodile was amazed at what he was seeing from her. But she was focused only on her job. ‘I’m ready to race. Who am I racing with?’ Tiny meanwhile, was already in his kart. ‘Pretty lady says race.’ Dr. N. Gin then tried to reason with Tiny, the aim being to take his place. It didn’t work.

On the track

As they saw Pasadena roll onto the grid, Von Clutch and Yaya tried to speak to Pasadena. ‘Pasadena, it’s us. How do we get you out of this?’ ‘My job is to race for Dr. N. Trance. I must obey his command.’ Her gaze was fixed, her eyes cold and dark. 'How do we get her?' 'I'll calculate a plan.' 

The lights went green, and Pasadena roared off the line, but Yaya was right behind her from the start, ramming into the side of her kart. ‘If you won’t listen to me, then I’ll have to knock this out of you!’ Tearing down to the first bend, Yaya turned violently to the right, pushing her mother figure away from the first boxes and picking up a weapon in the process. This fighting had the side-effect of allowing Nitrous Oxide into the lead, with Tiny right behind him until he saw a mine cart rush past, and started chasing it, eventually being squashed by another one, and dropping to the back of the field, elevating the fighting Pasadena and Yaya into 2nd and 3rd.

Coming towards the long bend upwards, Pasadena drove Yaya off of the road and drove off, her mind still being influenced solely by the power of Trance’s hypnotism. Crash was edging ahead of Velo for 3rd, while Yaya had returned to the track in 5th. At the front, Oxide saw the entranced possum coming up behind him, but his attempt to fire a bomb at her backfired when she drove around it, the projectile instead hitting his own team-mate. He then found himself overtaken for first, as Pasadena stared on through her cracked goggles.

In all the confusion, Velo had dropped all the way to 7th, and Von Clutch got behind his team-mate, pushing Yaya up towards Pasadena again. ‘Listen to us!’ ‘I only obey Dr. Trance.’ The possum tried to drive off again, but the theme park owner fired a shield at her, making her stop. This saw Oxide retake the lead, and juiced up, he successfully took the mine-track shortcut which Tiny had been distracted in the lap before. He reached the end of the second lap well ahead of his opponents, with the warring girls still locked together.

Von Clutch then crafted a plan. ‘Yaya, take the mine-track.’ ‘Why?’ ‘I think I know how to get her back.’ As they got to the turn off for that, Von Clutch positioned his kart so Pasadena couldn’t follow her. ‘Perfect – we have the higher ground now.’ As they approached the bend, he suddenly steered directly into her wheels, slowing the servant of Team Tropy right down, as Yaya jumped down from the shortcut right on top of Trance’s helmet.

As he landed on it, Pasadena screamed. ‘Get out of my head!’ Shortly afterwards, she reset. ‘Yes master Trance, I will obey.’ A cackling voice then came from her kart. ‘That will not work! Pasadena is totally under my command now! This new and improved helmet is directly wired into her brain! All she thinks about is serving me!’ Pasadena then drove off still only listening to Trance, as Yaya and Von Clutch followed. ‘We need to do something.’ ‘There’s nothing we can do at the moment. Apart from this!’ The two of them then drove to either side of her, and rammed into her wheels, allowing them to take a joint 2nd in the race, Oxide having taken the chequered flag by more than 25 seconds.

Base planet

Team Mutant returned, looking defeated despite their healthy haul of points. ‘If it’s wired into her brain what do we do?’ ‘We’ll work it out. There is always a solution.’ Just then, Hasty walked back in, carrying his signature cocky smile. ‘Did you see the race?’ ‘I certainly did, and your brave racing little one.’ ‘So what are you so happy about?’ ‘Because I may just have the solution to all of our problems.’ ‘Go on...’ ‘Well, you have an issue with helping out Pasadena, I have an issue with us being a member down. I have sourced somebody, a free agent, who can solve all of our problems.’

Yaya seemed suspicious however. ‘If it’s who I think you’re talking about, the answer is no, not a chance, never.’ ‘Let’s just say that they are someone who knows how to get Pasadena back.’ Von Clutch then came up with an idea to decide. ‘How’s about this for a plan of action – we go and find this partner you have sourced. Then they can explain how they can help us and why we should trust them.’ Yaya was clearly ill-at-ease stil, but agreed nethertheless. ‘So how do we know?’ ‘Hear them out. Their tone of voice, their mannerisms, everything tells you something. And if you know, you just know. How about we go and see him after this race. How does that sound Hasty?’ He responded by pulling his goggles down. ‘It’s fine by me. Let’s race.’

Everyone then stared at him. ‘What, did I say something funny?’ ‘The next race hasn’t even been announced yet.’ As this was said, Pinstripe made the announcement. ‘Your next challenge will be to negotiate the tight turns and bumpy kerbs of Slide Colosseum. I hope this track doesn't drive you... around the bend.' 

Team Tropy

Dingodile was concerned at the lack of a plan from his team-mates. ‘You said that we’re going to take over the world here right?’ ‘That is correct.’ ‘So, what are we waiting for?’ ‘My colleague Dr. Trance has insisted that he has one more target he wishes to go after before we do that.’ ‘Can you tell us who it is?’ ‘Alas, I cannot. Dr. Trance has sworn to not reveal his plans until they are complete. Suffice to say, he already has his target identified and under surveillance. Now I would like to change our subject to this race. I have nominated yourself and Pasadena once again. Between us, when our final member comes in, we will ditch the useless tiger.’

The Race

As the race was about to begin, Yaya and Hasty stared at Dingodile, who stared back. The moment the lights went green, Hasty got a lightning start, and was first into the first bend, closely followed by Yaya, with the team-mates having a plan to force Pasadena and Dingodile behind them.

This plan lasted all through the first lap, with Zam and Coco also close, but as the second lap began, the mind-controlled possum was forced by her master to ram her former friend off the road, enabling Dingodile to steam past Hasty into first. The moose reclaimed his spot by bouncing off one of the kerbs for a speed boost, leading to a very tense race between the two, as they raced wheel to wheel for the entire lap, going to and fro.

Going into the last lap, Pasadena was holding strong in third, Coco was 4th, then Yaya, Oxide, Zam, and finally Crunch. At the front, the race was starting to get nasty, with Hasty leading the fighting talk. ‘See, I can win without having to have a puppet racing for me.’ I told you already, I had nothing to do with that. Dr. Trance is the only one who controls Pasadena.’ ‘Doesn’t stop you racing for him though.’ ‘I’m racing for Dr. Tropy, and because I want to. Not because I like that weirdo.’ ‘Weirdo? That’s rich coming from someone who’s half croc and half dingo.’ ‘That’s personal appearance, I don’t control that.’ ‘No, you don’t control anything do you?’

This seemed to light something in Dingo, who responded by looking over at Pasadena. ‘Pasadena, do as I say and ram him off the road!’ ‘Yes master Dingodile!’ Hasty used a speed booster to try and accelerate out of reach, but Pasadena had one of her own, and managed to nudge him, sending the moose spinning out of control into the barrier. This left Dingo free to take first, with Pasadena slowing down at the end to ensure his win. Coco and Hasty crossed the line together, getting three points each, with Yaya overtaking them both just after the line.

Pasadena left straight away after the race, with Coco confronting Dingodile. ‘That was pretty dirty, even for you.’ ‘Everyone thinks I’m evil, so why not just live up to it? I can’t help how Cortex created me. But if everyone’s going to think that of me, then I might as well force Pasadena to race for me. Speaking of which, watch your back – you never know what might happen next.’ He walked into the warp portal, just as Hasty walked over towards him to comment on his actions.

In the Hub World

As Dingodile returned to the hub, Pasadena was waiting for him. ‘More points for us.’ ‘Yeah, it is. I just wanted you to know, I’m… I’m just really glad you’re on our team.’ Pasadena replied promptly, confirming ‘I’m happy to be on your team as well.’ But Dingo noticed something so slight that nobody else could hope to realise – Pasadena was blushing.

End of Chapter 2

**STANDINGS AFTER CHAPTER 2**

**Team Mutant - 55 points  
Team Cortex/Tropy - 53 points  
Team Bandicoot - 19 points  
Team Gasmoxia - 13 points**

**DRIVERS STANDINGS**

**1st: Dingodile- 36 points  
2nd - Pasadena - 31 points  
3rd - Yaya - 16 points  
4th= Oxide/Coco - 13 points  
6th - Von Clutch - 10 points  
7th = - Cortex/Velo/Hasty - 3 points  
 _10th= - Tiny/N.Gin - 1 point_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying the story, leave Kudos, leave a comment, because not only do I want to know what you think, I'm also open to new story ideas.


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